Verlander obviously has heard the talk. He doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned about it.

"I learned a valuable lesson in 2008, and that’s not going about trying
to create velocity the wrong way," Verlander said. "Just worry about establishing your
pitches, making your pitches, getting outs. You start trying to throw
hard, and that creates a lot of bad habits that are hard to fix."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland briefly expressed his thoughts on the subject prior to the game.

Verlander threw his fastball in the 91 to 93 mph range in the first inning Tuesday night in a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins. But when he got into a bit of trouble in the second inning, he cranked it up without seeming to expend any excess effort.

Nine of his fastballs in the second inning were clocked at 96 mph; one touched 97.

Verlander basically said that the lower velocity is simply part of the plan. After the Tigers reached the World Series last season, all of the starters adjusted a bit in the offseason. Verlander certainly did. He backed off his normal schedule a bit to give his arm some time to rest before spring training began.

"I threw a lot of innings last year and was basically three weeks behind coming into spring training this year — on purpose," he said. "But I think it seems like, for the most part, our entire team has started slowly getting better, velocity-wise."

He's had plenty of success this season even if he isn't throwing as hard. He has a 1.83 ERA through six starts.